07 Mar 2022 17:13:16
I saw an article on the Liverpool page about revamping the United team by basically only keeping about 16 put of 40 players on your books. Sheesh. Can i give you an unsolicited reply? Well i guess it'd be solicited if i let you answer that so, thanks in advance. Also please excuse my dry/ poor comedy because I'm high on cocodamol and Paracetamol.

Ralph Ragnick is a bigger myth than Pogba. Never won anything of note as either a Manager or DOF. He's mates with a few very good managers who big him up and that's about it. It's no different to Big Dave down the Fox and Hound saying his best mate MC Keith is a "Legend" when in actual fact Keith is a failed Soundcloud rapper who hasn't paid any CSA for 3 years.

I think you are wrong to hammer your entire squad. Nobody can succeed in that kind of environment. No stability at all for nearly a decade. AWB for example has only ever worked under Hodgson and Ole. Now he is probably only good enough to provide cover for Dalot because you were rinsed for £50m, but is it really any wonder the kids confidence is shot and he's not had the correct coaching to form him into a modern wing back? Purely from a football standpoint (not getting in to any board related issues) from my outsider view there are 5 main problems at your club.

1) Ragnick. He's not good enough. Never has been. There is a reason he was at Zenit and not a big club in a top European league at any point in his career. Reminds me of Rodgers actually. I bet he has a great portfolio and could sell sand to an Egyptian.

2) Ronaldo. His attitude stinks. He walks in the door and within minutes he's had penalties of Bruno, the 7 shirt off Cavani, undermined and forced Ole out of the job, and is now rumoured to be causing all sorts of issues with Maguire/ Ralph. Only rumours maybe but there is no smoke without fire and it'd be very on brand for him. He's an over paid pencil case/ water bottle model now. You are now the Ronaldo-show. He's right about a lot of things but it's the way he goes about it.

3) Maguire. He's a joke on and off the pitch and this is your captain. Embarrassing in every sense of the word. The only thing more embarrassing is Ronaldo thinking he'd do any better as a leader because he doesn't eat desserts.

4) Bruno/ Pogba. It's like Lampard and Gerrard all over again. They cannot play together. They're both average without the ball and you can't carry 2 midfielders like that. Especially not with an under wear model up front in CR7. Shunting one out wide does not work. Ask Sven, Capello or McClaren. Bruno in a free role as the main man looked world class so why fix what ain't broke?

5) Fred/ McTominay. You won't want to hear it because McTominay is "one of your own" but neither are good enough to be starters. Unfortunately you literally have nobody else because Matic is about 47 years old. In the modern game the base of midfield is where you win or lose and Fred wouldn't look out of place in a relegation battle. McTominay is good enough for like 4th or 5th choice but he should not be starting for Manchester United every week.

Anyway, quite a few of you are writing off about 15-20 players in scathing reviews and pretty much implied you need 10-12 signings. Fair play if you've always held this view but last summer the general consensus was it was all rosy and all we were hearing was how you were title challengers again. Now everyone is dead wood and the attitudes are all wrong. Maybe if the attitude is wrong throughout the squad you need to look at your leaders in the dressing room and your management team, eh? I think some Man United fans have lost objectivity and are now just out for blood. For me you NEED 4 players and a manager. At least one of those players needs to be leader too. Yes there is more long term issues to address but baby steps yeah. I think you could do a lot worse this summer than:
1. Ragnick out > Ten Haag in
2. Ronaldo out - Dennis in
3. Maguire out - Salisu in
4. Fred out - Bissouma in
5. Matic out - Ward Prowse in

Now obviously i've just plucked out names who could improve you to make a point that a handful of signings can change the whole dynamic. I'm not clairvoyant.

Onto me defending the general quality of the squad then (i feel sick already) .

De Gea is a good keeper. Bad with his feet maybe so how about just not playing it back to him when it isn't necessary? Ed Mendy isn't great with his feet either so Chelsea just don't play him into trouble or ask him to pick out an incisive pass into a midfielder. Not every keeper is Ederson or Alisson and that's okay.

Dalot and Telles are good modern wing backs and for me should start for you. But 6 months ago i was told Shaw was better than Robertson. 18 months ago AWB was being compared to Trent. So it's a hell of a U-turn to now not even want them in the squad!

Varane, top top player. Needs a comptent partner as i've already covered (really think Salisu is a good LCB for you but then Maguire has set the bar lower than the suspension on a boy racers citroen Saxo) . Lindelof and Bailly are fine as back ups. No worse than Stones or Ake for example. Anybody would look poor alongside Slabhead.

Midfield i've covered. Agree fully. Your engine room is a joke. (JWP and Bissouma transform you overnight in my opinion - Garner, Donny and McTominay is good depth i guess)

Wingers you're fine. Elanga, Sancho and Rashford are fine. They're young too. Get a good coach.

Attacking midfield, i've pretty much covered. Just stop playing 2 similar players. Especially not as a bloody strike partnership. What was that all about? Probably let Pogba go anyway as you have Donny who can play this role. Keep Mata too. Older model pros are gold dust. We haven't kept Milner for his 5mph top speed.

Strikers, again i covered above. For your sakes, hopefully Cavani is forgiving because he's a great back up striker with a good attitude to the sport. (Dennis is a complete forward and Prem proven. He's exactly what you need but then i am just an armchair manager. Obviously shouldn't even need to be having this particular discussion but the least said about why you need a striker, the better) .

But yeah, to reiterate Ten Haag is a miles better option than Poch. Every manager you've had post Fergie was either past their best (LVG/ Jose) or had no track record of success (Moyes/ Ole/ Ragnick) . Poch goes straight into that second bracket again even if he wins Ligue 1. Might as well go get Neil Lennon for winning the SPL a few times whilst Rangers were on their backsides. If it wasn't so sad to see you repeatedly making managerial errors, it'd be even more hilarious. Seen some say Van der Saar as DOF. Seems a good fit with club ties to be fair so sure why not. I don't even really get what a DOF does other than have an input on scouting and signings. I'm still a big believer than the manager is the real difference maker.

Anyway, just my opinion. Sure i'll take pelters left, right and centre. Don't really care either way (i'm just bored at home with a broken arm ??‍♂️) . I do think this hyperbole is ridiculous when after you beat Leeds 5-1 in August the same posters launching into the squad now, said it was your year! And believe me, if i think it's hyperbole it probably is because hyperbole is my middle name. I was pretty much the founder of the Ibe>Sterling movement (not my finest momemt) . Maybe take a step back and calm down. Signing 10+ new players and trying to run before you can walk has never worked. Have a good week ??.

{Ed025's Note - i enjoyed that MK..

1.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 17:43:28
Very good spot on.

2.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 17:53:42
Well that's depressed me even more. going to get worse still, I mean can it get worse. yes, we are utter pants.

3.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 18:08:03
Decent read but ragnick is an interim for a reason we all know that he was never going to transform 3 years worth of garbarge in 6 months

But go read up how he did at rb and hoffenheim as a dof. Think youll find he did pretty well.

4.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 18:47:29
Not a lot wrong there MK but I have to disagree on Rangnick. He essentially helped build the Red Bill football model. Ed1 would tell you he’s excellent at what he does if he’s given the opportunity and the freedom, and also on his coaching your own manager praised him a lot.

I can’t disagree on much more- but of course when you win 5-1 on the opening day with a big name signing unveiled everyone gets excited. The reality is we are very weak in the key areas that you require to get over the line in big games and pick up the points you need to compete. We need two bodies in midfield, a centre half, a striker, potentially a wide player and at least one full back.

5.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 19:43:47
Good post Adam.
I think all our idiot fans that thought ole was doing a good job have now seen the light and changed their minds.
They have also changed their minds on his great transfer record and changed their minds on ole creating a productive and promising happy camp.
Captain hindsight is out in force slating every tom dick and Harry throwing punches like a drunken sailor after defending them for years.
Just like the way the wind blows. Inconsistent.
Lecture after lecture of how good things were now they are all useless.
I tend to agree with you. 4 or good signing and a proper coach and things will look a while lot better.
As you know Adam and I've been saying it for the last 5 or 6 windows. It's who we get rid of is much more important than who we buy.
Pogba and lingard should have no place in our squad they are not committed. Goodbye. See out your contact on gardening leave.
Mata I disagree a waste of a salary he has nothing to offer on the pitch.
Bailly Henderson Jones martial awb dalot Fred cavani and ronaldo need to be sold. Probably get about 150m for the lot of them.
Ole destroyed the standards and expectations he destroyed the work ethic and every principle the club stood for. The new manager has a tough job but also a wonderful opportunity.

6.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 21:40:13
Cheers MK. Great post and nice to see the 'outsiders' perspective. Ten Hag surely a better option than Pochettino. I fear Pochettino is another 'never won anything' personally. Aware many will say Ten Hag has only won a weaker league etc but his style, seemingly parts Pep and Klopp approaches, appeals.

As obviously does his blooding the youth. Given the scale of the re-build we need, and not least writing off whatever happens in the first 2 seasons of a new manager no matter what, surely a mix of blooding the youngsters we already have and signing 4 key players to build the spine is essential.

7.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 22:03:45
All of this has been done to death. Rangnick is an interim, not a long term manager, and should not be held to the same standards as a full time appointee. No one expects him to make a dramatic impact on this bunch of prima donnas. His job is to bang the final nail in SAF coffin and set in motion a much overdue rebuild of the club in all its aspects.

I'm sure the Glazers now realize that they have been extremely badly let down by the CEO and the invested power structure at the club. They have seen the club's value plummet by 40% from its highs.

We have been take to the cleaners in the transfer market, and led in that direction by an outdated and smug group of outdated thinkers who have been trusted to make footballing decisions because there was no one else at the club in senior management who knew anything at all about football.

They are all accountants and marketing people.

8.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 22:30:05
RR is doing a job asked of him in extremely difficult circumstances.
It's not a time for panic it's a time for cool heads. Smart strategic moves will get us out of this rut rather than emotional reactions.
Will RR be allowed to implement his vision in a new role as a consultant? if the answer to that question then I would think he is the best man to be doing the job he is doing now.
Be it poch or ETH or whomever else If I were the new coach I'd like to have a smart strategic thinker like RR influencing the football side of the business giving us a new identity to work towards both on and off the pitch.

9.) 07 Mar 2022
07 Mar 2022 22:53:33
Really good posts and very incisive from MK. My only thing, in reply to the Mata responses, as I have said before, would be to keep Mata. He is the model professional, is very likeable and does offer something on the pitch, HEART! He may not be quick but you do not see him giving up or indeed throwing the ball away every time he gets it.

Lord knows the club needs some leaders and someone who has some credence. Mata offers far more than just being a player and would be a very good person to keep around once he hangs up his boots.

I would play 5 Mata's AND 5 kids on the weekend above everyone else in the outfield. One thing you would be sure of is 100% effort and playing for the shirt not their salaries!

10.) 08 Mar 2022
08 Mar 2022 05:26:47
Concurred here.

11.) 08 Mar 2022
08 Mar 2022 09:52:32
Difference with Milner is he still offers something to the team, mata unfortunately doesn't.

12.) 08 Mar 2022
08 Mar 2022 10:30:43
So much wrong with the original post I don't know where to start and I haven't got the time.

Mata? James Ward Prowse? You can have them at Liverpool if you like?

13.) 08 Mar 2022
08 Mar 2022 14:08:00
LOL. Dennis?
Wow we really are in sh*t street.